Peptide self-assembly triggered by metal ions

Abstract

Through their unique and specific interactions with various metal ions, naturally occurring proteins control structures and functions of many biological processes and functions in organisms. Inspired by natural metallopeptides, chemists have developed artificial peptides which coordinate with metal ions through their functional groups either for introducing a special reactivity or for constructing nanostructures. However, the design of new coordination peptides requires a deep understanding of the structures, assembly properties, and dynamic behaviours of such peptides. This review briefly discusses strategies of peptide self-assembly induced by metal coordination to different natural and non-natural binding sites in the peptide. The structures and functions of the obtained aggregates are described as well. We also highlight some examples of a metal-induced peptide self-assembly with relevance to biotechnology applications.

Design, fabrication, and biomedical applications of bioinspired peptide–inorganic nanomaterial hybrids

“…For further study of PNFs, there are α-helixes, β-sheets, β-strands or coiled coils inside. 1,2 As shown in Fig. 2, the peptides with different nanostructure (green part in the picture) directly affect the final microstructure of the hybrids and finally form zero dimensional (0D) nanosphere, one dimensional (1D) nanorod, two dimensional (2D) membrane and three dimensional (3D) network.…”

“…2, the peptides with different nanostructure (green part in the picture) directly affect the final microstructure of the hybrids and finally form zero dimensional (0D) nanosphere, one dimensional (1D) nanorod, two dimensional (2D) membrane and three dimensional (3D) network. 1 In order to deeply explore the forming mechanism of NPs grown on nanofibers, Jung et al discussed the chiral helical supramolecule nanofibers with well-defined helicity for achieving the growth of organized NPs. 29 The nanofibers with different structural arrangements were identified to assembling from single to dual component mixtures.…”

“…By designing peptide sequence, the shape, size and dimension of the resulting self-assemblies would be well controlled. 1 With the development of other assistive technologies, it seems easier to construct films based on peptides and simultaneously control the homogeneity of NPs. Yan et al reported a new approach combining electron-induced molecular self-assembly with simultaneous NP formation to prepare peptide thin films with homogeneously dispersed MNPs.…”

“…[1][2][3] In order to further enrich the function and application of sole peptide, multifarious hybrids based on peptide are born at the right time. In terms of nanostructure, protonated amine groups or functional groups on the peptide molecules or assemblies could act as binding moieties to inspire the seed-mediated growth and well-organized decoration of inorganic nanomaterials including metal nanoparticles (MNPs), carbon materials, and quantum dots (QDs).…”

Peptide-mediated vectorization of metal complexes: conjugation strategies and biomedical applications

“…Details about metallopeptide catalysts were reviewed by Lewis 13 and interesting approaches involving metal-induced peptide self-assembly have been recently summarized by Tian and co-workers. 14 …”